Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has ordered the resignation of fraudsters who over-invoiced the state for USD49 million on a B767-300F to be delivered to Air Tanzania in April 2023, according to local media reports.
The Citizen reports Hassan made the remarks after being presented with the Financial Year 2021/22 audit on the state-owned carrier by Tanzania’s Controller and Auditor General (CAG) on March 29, 2023.
Reading from the report, the president said the last instalment to Boeing for the aircraft should have been USD37 million. Yet, USD86 million was invoiced. “Where did this invoice come from? What did the contract say? And when you received the invoice, you still presented it to the government for payment. Stupid! What steps did you take after you received the invoice? When you look at it critically, you will notice that the price hike is something that started internally”she proceeded to order all those involved to resign but mentioned no names.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, new-build B767-300F 5H-TCO (msn 67788) has been sold to TGF – Tanzania Government Flight, which owns and leases all aircraft to Air Tanzania.
The aircraft is part of a 2021 order from Boeing, also including two B737-9 MAX and one B787-8.
Once delivered, the flag carrier’s first widebody freighter will be based at Kilimanjaro, which is to become the strategic hub for cargo operations in Tanzania.
Meanwhile, Business Insider Africa and The Citizen report the Controller and Auditor General highlighted that Air Tanzania posted a loss of TZS60 billion Tanzanian shillings (USD25.6 million) in the Financial Year 2021/22, of which TZS35.2 billion (USD15 million) was attributable to flight delays.
Presenting the report to the president, Charles Kichere said the existing two B787-8s operated at a loss of TZS23.6 billion (USD10 million) last year.
Passenger numbers were still 15.4% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) statistics, while its freight business grew by 32% above pre-Covid levels to 35,130.83 tonnes.
